Dr. James C. Schmidt has served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire since July 2013. His tenure has been exemplified by innovative public-private partnerships that illustrate his strong commitment to higher education as force for the public good.

Several initiatives highlight Schmidt’s entrepreneurial focus, but none so much as the powerful collaboration between Mayo Clinic Health System and UW-Eau Claire. The agreement was first established in 2017, making UW-Eau Claire the second entity in the world to have such a collaboration with Mayo. Together, they’re creating an innovation hub focused on excellence in community healthcare research in Wisconsin. This powerful collaboration, extended in 2023 to a 10-year agreement, allows undergraduates to work with faculty and Mayo medical professionals in discovering solutions that benefit patients around the region, state, country, and world. A complementary collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise led to the establishment of a high-performance computing center at UW-Eau Claire. These relationships with national innovators are helping the university secure millions in external funding to develop new academic programs and further its mission.

Schmidt’s belief that organizations are stronger when working together has led to the development of two major off-campus facilities that serve the university and region. Pablo Center at the Confluence is a community arts center in downtown Eau Claire. The Sonnentag project is an event and sports complex that includes one of the largest indoor turfed fieldhouses in the country and a diagnostic imaging and sports medicine center for Mayo Clinic Health System.

Through concerted advocacy efforts for state building projects and groundbreaking partnerships harnessing the power of philanthropic giving, Schmidt’s visionary efforts have secured more than $700 million of investment in UW-Eau Claire-related buildings and infrastructure on campus and in the community since 2013. Because of these developments, Eau Claire has been listed in numerous national publications as one of the top places in the country to live, start a business, and retire and is one of only two communities in Wisconsin where the population of working-age adults is growing.

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UW-Eau Claire among the top five regional public universities in the Midwest for decades. UWEC was named the top masters-level university for excellence in undergraduate research by the Council for Undergraduate Research in 2016 and hosted the 2023 National Conference for Undergraduate Research. In fall 2023, U.S. News & World Report added UW-Eau Claire to its exclusive “Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects” ranking, where it was the only regional comprehensive institution recognized. UW-Eau Claire has produced two Rhodes scholars since 2005 and leads master’s level institutions in Wisconsin and Minnesota in the number of Fulbright students produced annually.

Schmidt recently completed a two-year stint as chair of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division III Presidents Council. He also serves on a number of local and statewide boards, including the Wisconsin Technology Council and the Mayo Clinic Health System Wisconsin board. Previously, he served as vice president for university advancement at Winona State University (MN) and vice president for student affairs at Riverland Community College in Austin (MN). He holds a doctorate in educational policy and administration from the University of Minnesota, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Winona State University.